Wild North America 1846

Chapter 405 The Vast Texas

The inspection itinerary of Emperor Richard of the Great Tang Empire continued. From Chicago to Detroit, in mid-November, he inspected all the northern provinces and had already traveled south to Houston, the largest city in Texas.

Houston in November 1863 was just a small town with a population of 11 and a purely agricultural economic structure.

However, due to the importance of Houston's geographical location, it is an important export port and railway artery transportation hub for the southern provinces facing Europe, and it is more prosperous than ordinary agricultural cities.

In the Confederate States of America (South), there are actually large rural areas dotted with villages and towns and suburban estates, and there are hardly any traces of industrialization here.Cities in the south are generally small in size, and there are very few cities with a total population of more than 10.

The same is true for Texas. Within a few months after the Tang Empire took over, no major changes have taken place.

There are also many people in the empire who argue that the imperial family spent a huge price of 2.68 million to buy a prairie state of Texas, which is really worthless and was tricked by the southerners.

Many people even compared Alaska, which was originally worth 560 million yuan, with a total area of ​​171 million square kilometers, which is much cheaper than Texas, which has a total area of ​​69.4 square kilometers. The former is only a fraction of the latter. This argument It actually attracted the approval of quite a few people in the country.

People say what they say, and they don't like to use their brains. What they are talking about is that many people in society are easily led astray by caring people.

Alaska is almost useless except that it is a big place. It is located in the high cold and snow-covered all the year round, and it is not suitable for human habitation at all.

It has been more than 10 years since the Tang Empire entered the area, and the immigrant population so far has not exceeded 1.7. Apart from grazing hardy moose and hunting salmon and salmon, there are almost no other industries.

Texas is different. It is located in the warm and sunny south, with a large area of ​​flat arable land, suitable for planting cotton, grapes, wheat, corn, soybeans and other crops. It is rich in oil minerals and is located in the southern part of North America. , it is very convenient to travel across the Atlantic to Europe.

This state alone can maintain the needs of hundreds of millions of people for their living and reproduction. Its astonishing value is beyond the reach of Alaska, and there is no comparison at all.

Texas is also the area where oil and gas resources were first discovered in the North American continent. It has been more than 1 years since the first oil well was developed, but the oil industry has not developed, mainly due to the suppression of the advanced oil refining capabilities of the Datang Empire. The unit cost is too high.

The world-leading oil refining technology is the unique skill of the Datang Empire. Every oil refinery is under extremely high security alert conditions. All workers are Chinese, especially the first-generation Chinese workers who cannot speak English. .

Moreover, in petroleum refineries, front-line workers only master their own process operations, and cannot spy on other process production processes. Strict zoning procedures are implemented to strictly prevent technology leakage.

Refinery workers also have a special high-standard worker dormitory area, which is a well-known oil refining town. The town is rich in supplies, and basically they can solve their living problems without leaving the town.

Under various strict confidentiality measures, the oil refining technology of Datang Empire has not been leaked, and has always maintained a world-leading level.

Today, towering derricks have been erected in the southern coast of Texas directly under the royal family. Oil companies with royal background include Royal Texaco, Royal Chevron, Royal Changan Petroleum and other large multinational companies. , One after another rushed to land in Texas, preparing to vigorously develop Texas oil resources.

The world is bustling, all for profit.

These international oil giants value the oil resources in Texas, mainly from the perspective of interests, and thus make prudent decisions.

The bulk petrochemical products exported by the Datang Empire, mainly kerosene, diesel and lubricating oil, accounted for almost one-third of the total export volume, and three-quarters of this was exported to European countries. In 3, the total trade volume It reached 4 million Tang Yuan, equivalent to 1863 million pounds.

Since petrochemical products are exclusively sold by the Datang Empire, accounting for more than 93% of the world market, they have maintained relatively high prices and profits, and the profit margin can reach 45%.

The imperial government and royal family created huge tax revenues and operating dividends, and it was also the foundational industry for the royal family of the Tang Empire to become the richest royal family in the world.

The European royal families have the impression of the Tang Empire royal family as ancient, noble, domineering and rich. It is false to say that they are not envious. Those poor European royal families such as Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Greece, Hesse, Bavaria, Bulgaria, etc., see the big The princes of the Tang Empire came to see little stars in their eyes.

No way, too rich.

Today’s oil exploration and refining industry in Datang Empire is mainly concentrated in California. Its oil exports need to be transported by special tank trains, transported from the west coast of North America over 4700 kilometers to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and then shipped from the port of Medellin to Europe.

post american war

Petroleum refining products exported from California can be shipped from the ports of Houston or New Orleans and sailed to Europe. The distance of rail transportation is shortened to between 2800 kilometers and 3250 kilometers, which is still quite long.

As a bulk export material, petroleum refining and chemical products are often measured in millions of barrels, and each transshipment and loading and unloading is a huge cost. The transportation cost is higher than the refining cost of petroleum products, and this will inevitably occupy a considerable part of profits.

It is different now that we own Texas. In this land rich in oil resources, the royal oil giants can build oil refineries and oil fields on site, refine them on site and ship them directly to Europe, saving up to The transportation cost was more than 2400 million pounds, and the cost saved was worth hundreds of millions of Tang yuan.

That alone is worth the price of admission.

From the perspective of demand for petrochemical products
Due to the relatively rich and developed economy in Europe, the demand for petrochemical products is constantly increasing, with a sharp increase of 25%~30% every year to meet the needs of economic and social life. Therefore, the future export market of petrochemical products is extremely high. broad.

This will bring an opportunity for rapid development in Texas. A large number of Chinese population is rapidly pouring into this area, and the future prosperity is completely predictable.

The Texas oil field will serve as the main force for exporting petrochemical products to Europe, which can greatly reduce costs and increase the profit margin of capitalists, benefitting everyone from the imperial family to the government to oil development and producers.

The California Oilfield will focus on developing Central and South American markets, and export petroleum products to Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia.

Thus

The two major oil-producing areas each face two major international markets. The division of labor is more reasonable, and the profit margin is naturally higher.

The good thing about Texas is that it can be both salty and sweet. It is not only suitable for the development of agricultural and animal husbandry industries dominated by cotton, cattle and sheep, but also suitable for the development of specialty planting industries such as dried fruits, grapes, pears, apples, tobacco, and tea. It is really a treasure land suitable for the development of the shipbuilding steel industry and the petroleum refining industry.

Although the climate in this area is relatively hot, there is plenty of sunshine, and the average annual precipitation is 666 mm, which is about the same as the rainfall in northern Jiangsu.

However, there is no shortage of large rivers with abundant water resources. The Rio Grande, the Becos River, and the Red River, which have a drainage area of ​​thousands of kilometers, are abundant in both agricultural irrigation and urban water use.

it's here

Emperor Richard rode his horse from Houston to Dallas, the second largest town, with great interest, and inspected the oil refining industry under construction here.This was originally an agricultural town with a population of only 5.3 people, famous for its vast cotton fields and large livestock trading market.

Today, the top seven large oil giants in the empire have settled here one after another, and various large reinforced concrete buildings are rising. This small town that was originally peaceful is being stirred up by the crazy influx of oil capital and is turning into a noisy big city. construction site.

The surrounding area of ​​Dallas has extremely rich reserves of oil resources, and this is the focus of competition among major oil giants. The myth of many local white farmers getting rich overnight is not uncommon. Oil companies with big pockets waved their money to buy large tracts of land. soil of.

In the Texas area, which is directly under the royal family, buying the land does not mean that the resources under the land also belong to you. Building a house requires a building permit, and mining requires a mining permit, and a fee must be paid according to the mining area and output. A lot of mineral resources tax.

Besides
Petroleum and minerals are also subject to an income tax from exploitation to sale to petroleum refining and chemical enterprises, which is generally charged according to the total transaction value, and the tax rate is 38%.

As a monopoly profiteering industry, the tax rate of the petrochemical industry has always been relatively high. The other two industries with relatively high tax rates are the tobacco industry and the brewing industry. These two industries are also the main development directions of Texas in the future.

Due to the geology and strong sunshine, the melons and fruits produced in Texas are particularly sweet and of good quality, which creates a very good foundation for the grape wine industry, sorghum, and wheat wine industry, and is also one of the appropriate ways to solve a large number of surplus agricultural products one.

As a territory directly under the royal family, all of these taxes belonged to the Royal Household Office and belonged to the normal income of the royal family's operating territory.

In addition, some municipal and operating taxes can be used for the construction of royal territories, such as municipal administration, bridges, roads and urban construction, etc., to pay the salaries of municipal civil servants, and to build basic facilities such as railways and reservoirs.

As the development boom in Texas continues, within a few years, the imperial family can get back the investment in the purchase of the area with interest and enjoy long-term stable income returns.

When the imperial family took over the area, they protected the interests of the local white manor owners and ranchers, and issued imperial land ownership certificates based on the actual development and utilization of the land.

For example, this white cotton plantation owner owns 350 hectares of land, but only 60 hectares are actually used, so the land ownership certificate for 60 hectares is actually issued.

For example, a Caucasian rancher owns 5000 hectares of land, but only has 1100 head of cattle. Based on the base number of raising one head of cattle per hectare, a land ownership certificate for 1100 hectares can be issued.

Those barren and unused land will be taken back unconditionally.

Due to the cruel North American War for six consecutive years, a large number of young and middle-aged people in Texas were also lost, and some local whites were attracted by the preferential measures of the Confederate States of America government, and their families migrated to Virginia and other regions.

At the time of the handover in early 1863, the state's population was only 33.75, of which women and children accounted for more than two-thirds, and white men were less than 2.

This also makes many single Chinese men who arrived early very sought-after. They happily call this place "men's paradise". When they come here, there are women, manors and large land assets.

But they soon stopped laughing, because the empire did not allow black slaves to exist, so many cotton plantations run by whites closed down because there was not enough cheap labor.

These white families can only sell black slaves, sell their land and estates, and take a large sum of money to move their families to live in towns.

By the end of 1863, there were fewer than 2000 black slaves stranded in Texas, and they had to leave the country as quickly as possible for the rest of the time.

Otherwise, according to the transition period regulations;

Into the new year, black slaves found anywhere in Texas will be sent to hard labor camps without a penny of compensation.

Today, in the entire North American continent, the Confederate States of America (South) is the place with the largest number of black slaves, with a total of nearly 300 million, which is more than a million less than before the North American War.

After victory in the North American War in 1861
In the Confederate States of America (South), there was an anti-social trend of legislation, the most obvious being the "Negro Code" first promulgated by Mississippi, which was followed by the southern states, and finally passed by the Congress of the Confederate States of America as a formal law.

The Negro Code is the umbrella term for the various statutes enacted in the southern states to continue the enslavement of blacks. Mississippi first announced in 1866, the main contents are:

Deprive blacks of their political rights and prohibit blacks from gathering; blacks have no right to own land and must work under the conditions stipulated by plantation owners; blacks and whites are prohibited from marrying; blacks commit riots, fights, inflammatory speeches, and insulting gestures fines or imprisonment; the arrest of "vagrant" blacks, etc., was a legislative trend to reincarnate black slaves.

At the urging of the Southerners, the United States of America (North) passed an act of Congress that overturned the Emancipation Proclamation issued by former President James Buchanan and abolished its legal status.

During the war, the free blacks in the north were arrested by the soldiers of the Tang Empire and forcibly escorted to the south. As a result, the number of free blacks in the United States of America decreased sharply, with a total of less than 46.

In the current situation where Chinese capitalists are aggressively invading and controlling the economic lifeline of the United States of America, the situation of blacks who have always been unfairly treated is even more difficult, and it is basically impossible to find jobs in enterprises owned by Chinese factory owners.

Chinese factory owners would rather pay more to hire white people than see black employees in the factory as an eyesore.

In the north, it often happened that a black family starved to death.

The largest black employment enterprise is the Appalachian coalfield. In the largest coalfield in the world, the black hired labor does the dirtiest and most tiring work, and they can only get a subsistence income. Their lives are quite miserable.

On the contrary, in the south, the black slaves in the white cotton plantations lived a relatively stable life. They created wealth through hard work, allowing the southern white society to quickly heal the wounds of the war and return to the familiar way of life in the past.

After more than two years of recuperation, the Confederate States of America (South) have eliminated most of the traces left by the war. Richmond's newly completed white Roman palace-style building Jefferson-Davis Presidential Memorial Hall, Presidential Library, tall The Monument to the Heroes of Independence, as well as the red limestone presidential palace under construction, will be named the "Red Fort" and will be one of the landmark buildings of the Confederate States of America in the future.

The first founding president, Jefferson Davis, has already retired. Robert Lee, the former commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army who made outstanding contributions in the North American War, won the election as the second president with an overwhelming advantage. The people of the South continued to live happily as slave owners.

Tang Emperor Richard didn't want to interfere with other people's inherent way of life. Anyway, as long as the southerners like it, as long as North America is divided, the more the North and the South hate the better, he is optimistic.

An unprecedented bloody and brutal North American war left a deep gap and hatred between the South and the North. This alienation did not fade with the passage of time, but continued to deepen in the biased propaganda of both sides.

Don't you see

In the original history, even after being in the same prosperous and powerful country for 150 years, the North and South of the United States despise each other, and the hatred of mutual belittling has not diminished. You know how painful the trauma of the North American war is, and time cannot conceal this profound contradiction.

Don't you see

Virginia, the main force in the Civil War, has become a relatively backward state in the United States in later generations, and the capital Richmond does not even rank in the top 30 cities. You must know that it is the most fertile and most traffic-developed area on the East Coast. what!

If you need railways, you need railways, if you need ports, you need ports. The vast and fertile Great Plain stretches as far as the eye can see, and it is very close to the east coast, so why can't it develop?

Houston and Dallas are rich in oil resources, and the Texas region has always been extremely independent, and the unstoppable rapid development is unstoppable.

If Richmond's natural conditions are not good, what about New Orleans, the largest port in the South?
As the second largest port city in the United States after New York, New Orleans, the capital of St. Louisiana, doesn't even rank among the top 20 cities in the United States. Why can't it develop?

It's very interesting to think about it. In today's history, Richard hopes that the conflict between the North and the South between the United States and the South will continue to be deep, which is very beneficial to the Tang Empire.

As a close ally of the Confederate States of America (South), the Tang Empire is the creditor and actual master of the United States of America (North). Very close, business and real estate and intermarriage are very ordinary, but it is like a family with no barriers.

(End of this chapter)